Emily Dobson (; 10 October 1842 – 5 June 1934) was an Australian philanthropist. She was known for her work supporting women's charities.

Early life

Dobson was born in

Port Arthur, Tasmania Port Arthur is a town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. It is located approximately southeast of the state capital, Hobart. The site forms part of the Australian Convict Sites, a World Heritag ...

on 10 October 1842 to Thomas James Lempriere and Charlotte Lempriere née Smith. She was educated at home by her father. Her sister, Fanny, became the singer Fanny Benson who was the mother of Lucy Charlotte Benson. Emily married lawyer and politician, Henry Dobson, at the Bothwell Church of England on 4 February 1868.

Philanthropy work

Dobson began her philanthropy work after her husband was elected to the

Parliament of Tasmania The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the governor of Tasmania (as representative of the King), the Legislative Counci ...

in 1891. She became secretary of the Women's Sanitary Association in September 1891 which was founded to fight an outbreak of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

. The group petitioned Hobart local council and ran candidates for the municipal election of 1892, alongside the men's Sanitary and General Improvement Association. In 1892 Mary Jane Brabazon, Countess of Meath and her husband visited New Zealand and Tasmania. In Hobart she spoke about the success of the ''Ministering Children's League''. It was agreed to start a group in Hobart. By 1906 there was a home in Victoria. In 1892 Dobson's founded a local ''Ministering Children's League''. In 1898 she founded the ladies' committee of the Blind, Deaf and Dumb Institution. Dobson also supported nursing institutions and was one of the founders of the New Town Consumptives' Sanatorium in 1905 as well as being a life-long patron of the Tasmanian Bush Nursing Association. Dobson was also a supporter of temperance and was the vice-president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union of Tasmania. In 1899, she became vice-president of the newly founded National Council of Women of Tasmania and attended the 1899

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating women's rights, human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington D.C ...

meeting in London and was a delegate at the International Woman Suffrage Alliance Congress in Amsterdam in 1908. In 1919, the National Council of Women of Tasmania established the Emily Dobson Philanthropic Prize in recognition of her work. Dobson died in Hobart on 5 June 1934 and was buried in Queenborough cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Emily 1842 births 1934 deaths 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women Colony of Tasmania people Australian philanthropists Australian women activists Australian women philanthropists Australian women's rights activists Burials in Tasmania People from Hobart